Ephemeris: 04/01/2025 – Previewing April 2025 skies
This is Ephemeris for April Fools’ Day, Tuesday, April 1st. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 47 minutes, setting at 8:10, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:21. The Moon, halfway from new to first quarter, will set at 1:03 tomorrow morning.
The second quarter of the year begins today. Daylight hours in the Interlochen/Traverse City area and will increase from 12 hours and 47 minutes today to 14 hours 13 minutes on the 30th as spring really takes hold. The altitude, or angle, of the sun above the southern horizon at local noon will be 50 degrees today and will ascend to 60 degrees on April 3 The altitude of the Sun in the Straits area will be a degree lower. The actual time of local apparent noon at mid-month for the Interlochen/Traverse City area, when the sun passes due south, will be about 1:42 p.m. Jupiter and Mars will still be our evening planets this month. The Pleiades, tonight, will be just below the crescent Moon.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
April Evening Star Chart
The planets and stars are plotted for the 15th at 10 PM EST in the evening and 5 AM for the morning chart. These are the chart times. Note that Traverse City is located approximately 45 minutes behind our time meridian. (An hour 45 minutes behind our daylight saving time meridian during EDT). To duplicate the star positions on a planisphere (rotating star finder) you may have to set it to 45 minutes or one hour 45 minutes (Daylight Time) earlier than the current time.
Note the chart times of 10 PM and 6 AM are for the 15th and 16th. For each week before these dates, add ½ hour (28 minutes if you’re picky). For each week after, subtract ½ hour. Planet positions on dates other than the 15/16th can be found in the Wednesday planet posts on this blog.
April Morning Star Chart
For a list of constellation names to go with the abbreviations, click here.
- Pointer stars at the front of the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris, the North Star.
- The leaky bowl of the Big Dipper drips on Leo.
- Follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper to the star Arcturus, then
- Follow the spike to Spica.
- The Summer Triangle appears in red.
- LyrR is the radiant of the Lyrid meteor shower, which will reach peak on the morning of the 22nd.
Twilight Limits, Nautical and Astronomical
| EDT | |||||||
| Morning | Twilight | Evening | Twilight | Dark | Night | Moon | |
| Date | Astro. | Nautical | Nautical | Astro. | Start | End | Illum. |
| 2025-04-01 | 5h42m | 6h19m | 21h18m | 21h54m | – | 5h42m | 0.20 |
| 2025-04-02 | 5h40m | 6h17m | 21h19m | 21h56m | 1h03m | 5h40m | 0.30 |
| 2025-04-03 | 5h38m | 6h15m | 21h21m | 21h57m | 2h20m | 5h38m | 0.40 |
| 2025-04-04 | 5h36m | 6h13m | 21h22m | 21h59m | 3h23m | 5h36m | 0.51 |
| 2025-04-05 | 5h34m | 6h11m | 21h23m | 22h01m | 4h12m | 5h34m | 0.62 |
| 2025-04-06 | 5h32m | 6h09m | 21h25m | 22h02m | 4h49m | 5h32m | 0.71 |
| 2025-04-07 | 5h29m | 6h07m | 21h26m | 22h04m | 5h17m | 5h29m | 0.80 |
| 2025-04-08 | 5h27m | 6h05m | 21h28m | 22h06m | – | – | 0.87 |
| 2025-04-09 | 5h25m | 6h03m | 21h29m | 22h07m | – | – | 0.93 |
| 2025-04-10 | 5h23m | 6h01m | 21h31m | 22h09m | – | – | 0.97 |
| 2025-04-11 | 5h21m | 5h59m | 21h32m | 22h11m | – | – | 0.99 |
| 2025-04-12 | 5h18m | 5h57m | 21h34m | 22h12m | – | – | 1.00 |
| 2025-04-13 | 5h16m | 5h55m | 21h35m | 22h14m | – | – | 0.99 |
| 2025-04-14 | 5h14m | 5h53m | 21h36m | 22h16m | 22h16m | 22h37m | 0.96 |
| 2025-04-15 | 5h12m | 5h51m | 21h38m | 22h17m | 22h17m | 23h43m | 0.91 |
| 2025-04-16 | 5h09m | 5h49m | 21h39m | 22h19m | 22h19m | – | 0.85 |
| 2025-04-17 | 5h07m | 5h47m | 21h41m | 22h21m | 22h21m | 0h48m | 0.78 |
| 2025-04-18 | 5h05m | 5h45m | 21h42m | 22h23m | 22h23m | 1h48m | 0.69 |
| 2025-04-19 | 5h03m | 5h43m | 21h44m | 22h25m | 22h25m | 2h40m | 0.59 |
| 2025-04-20 | 5h01m | 5h41m | 21h45m | 22h26m | 22h26m | 3h23m | 0.49 |
| 2025-04-21 | 4h58m | 5h39m | 21h47m | 22h28m | 22h28m | 3h57m | 0.38 |
| 2025-04-22 | 4h56m | 5h38m | 21h49m | 22h30m | 22h30m | 4h25m | 0.28 |
| 2025-04-23 | 4h54m | 5h36m | 21h50m | 22h32m | 22h32m | 4h48m | 0.18 |
| 2025-04-24 | 4h52m | 5h34m | 21h52m | 22h34m | 22h34m | 4h52m | 0.10 |
| 2025-04-25 | 4h50m | 5h32m | 21h53m | 22h36m | 22h36m | 4h50m | 0.04 |
| 2025-04-26 | 4h47m | 5h30m | 21h55m | 22h37m | 22h37m | 4h47m | 0.01 |
| 2025-04-27 | 4h45m | 5h28m | 21h56m | 22h39m | 22h39m | 4h45m | 0.00 |
| 2025-04-28 | 4h43m | 5h26m | 21h58m | 22h41m | 22h41m | 4h43m | 0.03 |
| 2025-04-29 | 4h41m | 5h25m | 21h59m | 22h43m | 23h56m | 4h41m | 0.09 |
| 2025-04-30 | 4h39m | 5h23m | 22h01m | 22h45m | – | 4h39m | 0.16 |
Twilight calendar was generated using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
See my blog post: Twilight Zone for the definitions of the different periods of twilight here: https://bobmoler.wordpress.com/2018/09/27/.
NASA Calendar of Planetary Events
Date Time Event
Apr 1 Tu Venus: 16.3° W
1 Tu 4:28 PM Moon-Pleiades: 0.6° S
3 Th 6:15 PM Moon North Dec.: 28.7° N
4 Fr 10:14 PM First Quarter
5 Sa 12:46 PM Moon-Pollux: 2.1° N
5 Sa 3:04 PM Moon-Mars: 2.3° S
6 Su 12:44 PM Moon-Beehive: 2.8° S
8 Tu 7:51 AM Moon-Regulus: 2.4° S
10 Th 8:19 AM Mercury-Saturn: 2.1° N
10 Th 3:56 PM Moon Descending Node
12 Sa 8:22 PM Full Moon
12 Sa 9:39 PM Moon-Spica: 0.4° N
13 Su 6:48 PM Moon Apogee: 406300 km
16 We 6:19 PM Moon-Antares: 0.4° N
18 Fr 9:24 AM Moon South Dec.: 28.6° S
20 Su 9:35 PM Last Quarter
21 Mo 2:59 PM Mercury Elongation: 27.4° W
22 Tu 8:53 AM Lyrid Shower: ZHR = 20
24 Th 9:21 PM Moon-Venus: 2.4° N
24 Th 10:23 PM Moon Ascending Node
25 Fr 12:15 AM Moon-Saturn: 2.3° S
25 Fr 9:05 PM Moon-Mercury: 4.3° S
27 Su 12:15 PM Moon Perigee: 357100 km
27 Su 3:31 PM New Moon
28 Mo 3:27 PM Venus-Saturn: 3.7° N
29 Tu 2:35 AM Moon-Pleiades: 0.5° S
May 1 Th Venus: 40.9° W
Sky Events Calendar by Fred Espenak and Sumit Dutta (NASA’s GSFC),
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SKYCAL/SKYCAL.html.
Sun and Moon Rising and Setting Events
LU Ephemeris of Sky Events for Interlochen/TC
April, 2025 Local time zone: EDT
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| DATE | SUN SUN DAYLIGHT| TWILIGHT* |MOON RISE OR ILLUM |
| | RISE SET HOURS | END START |PHASE SET** TIME FRACTN|
+=======================================================================+
|Tue 1| 07:23a 08:10p 12:47 | 09:15p 06:18a | Set 01:03a 18%|
|Wed 2| 07:21a 08:12p 12:50 | 09:17p 06:16a | Set 02:19a 27%|
|Thu 3| 07:19a 08:13p 12:53 | 09:18p 06:14a | Set 03:23a 38%|
|Fri 4| 07:17a 08:14p 12:57 | 09:19p 06:12a |F Qtr Set 04:12a 49%|
|Sat 5| 07:15a 08:15p 13:00 | 09:21p 06:10a | Set 04:48a 60%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 6| 07:13a 08:17p 13:03 | 09:22p 06:08a | Set 05:16a 69%|
|Mon 7| 07:12a 08:18p 13:06 | 09:24p 06:06a | Set 05:38a 78%|
|Tue 8| 07:10a 08:19p 13:09 | 09:25p 06:04a | Set 05:57a 86%|
|Wed 9| 07:08a 08:20p 13:12 | 09:27p 06:02a | Set 06:13a 92%|
|Thu 10| 07:06a 08:22p 13:15 | 09:28p 06:00a | Set 06:29a 96%|
|Fri 11| 07:04a 08:23p 13:18 | 09:30p 05:58a | Set 06:44a 99%|
|Sat 12| 07:03a 08:24p 13:21 | 09:31p 05:56a |Full Rise 08:25p 100%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 13| 07:01a 08:25p 13:24 | 09:33p 05:54a | Rise 09:30p 99%|
|Mon 14| 06:59a 08:27p 13:27 | 09:34p 05:52a | Rise 10:36p 96%|
|Tue 15| 06:57a 08:28p 13:30 | 09:35p 05:50a | Rise 11:43p 92%|
|Wed 16| 06:56a 08:29p 13:33 | 09:37p 05:48a | Rise 12:48a 86%|
|Thu 17| 06:54a 08:30p 13:36 | 09:39p 05:46a | Rise 01:48a 79%|
|Fri 18| 06:52a 08:32p 13:39 | 09:40p 05:44a | Rise 02:40a 70%|
|Sat 19| 06:51a 08:33p 13:42 | 09:42p 05:42a | Rise 03:22a 61%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 20| 06:49a 08:34p 13:45 | 09:43p 05:40a |L Qtr Rise 03:57a 51%|
|Mon 21| 06:47a 08:35p 13:47 | 09:45p 05:38a | Rise 04:25a 40%|
|Tue 22| 06:46a 08:37p 13:50 | 09:46p 05:36a | Rise 04:48a 30%|
|Wed 23| 06:44a 08:38p 13:53 | 09:48p 05:35a | Rise 05:09a 20%|
|Thu 24| 06:43a 08:39p 13:56 | 09:49p 05:33a | Rise 05:29a 11%|
|Fri 25| 06:41a 08:40p 13:59 | 09:51p 05:31a | Rise 05:50a 5%|
|Sat 26| 06:39a 08:42p 14:02 | 09:52p 05:29a | Rise 06:14a 1%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 27| 06:38a 08:43p 14:04 | 09:54p 05:27a |New Set 09:05p 0%|
|Mon 28| 06:36a 08:44p 14:07 | 09:55p 05:25a | Set 10:33p 2%|
|Tue 29| 06:35a 08:45p 14:10 | 09:57p 05:23a | Set 11:56p 7%|
|Wed 30| 06:33a 08:46p 14:13 | 09:59p 05:22a | Set 01:08a 15%|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
* Nautical Twilight
** Moonrise or moonset, whichever occurs between sunset and sunrise
Generated using my LookingUp for DOS program.
Ephemeris: 03/31/2025 – Finding Leo, the celestial lion
This is Ephemeris for Monday, March 31st. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 44 minutes, setting at 8:09, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:23. The Moon, 2 days past new, will set at 11:39 this evening.
At 10 p.m. the spring constellation of Leo the lion will be high in the south-southeast. It can be found by locating the Big Dipper high in the northeast and imagining that a hole were drilled in the bowl to let the water leak out. It would drip on the back of this giant cat. The Lion is standing or lying facing westward. His head and mane are seen in the stars as a backwards question mark. This group of stars is also called the sickle. The bright star Regulus is at the bottom, the dot at the bottom of the question mark. A triangle of stars, to the left of Regulus, is the lion’s haunches. Leo contains some nice galaxies visible in moderate sized telescopes. The stars in Leo’s part of the sky are fewer than those in the winter sky.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 03/28/25 – There’s a partial solar eclipse tomorrow, but not for Michigan
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Friday, March 28th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 35 minutes, setting at 8:05, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:28. The Moon, 1 day before new, will rise at 7:29 tomorrow morning.
There will be a partial solar eclipse tomorrow morning which will end about 14 minutes before sunrise for Northwestern Lower Michigan. It will be visible to the east and north of here, including all the way to northern Asia. It belongs to the same eclipse season as our total lunar eclipse two weeks ago. Eclipse seasons occur twice a year and last about 35 days. During that time, since it’s a little bit longer than a lunar month, there will be at least 2 eclipses, one of each kind, lunar and solar. There’s a possibility of three, if there is a central lunar eclipse. Then there can be two partial solar eclipses, one to the extreme north, the other to the extreme south of the Earth. The eclipse seasons slip a bit earlier each year. Last year’s total solar eclipse occurred April 8th.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 03/27/2025 – Cancer the celestial crab
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Thursday, March 27th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 32 minutes, setting at 8:04, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:30. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 7:08 tomorrow morning.
At 10 PM, between the stars Castor and Pollux in Gemini high in the southwest and the star Regulus in Leo the Lion in the southeast lies the dimmest constellation of the zodiac, Cancer the crab. To me its 5 brightest stars make an upside down Y. There are the stars in the center of the constellation Asellus Borealis and Asellus Australis, the north and south donkeys. There’s a fuzzy spot between and just west of them called Praesepe, the manger, from which they are eating hay. In binoculars, it resolves into a cluster of stars called the Beehive cluster. We amateur astronomers also know it as M44, the 44th object on 18th century comet hunter Charles Messier’s list of fuzzy objects that might be mistaken for comets.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 03/26/2025 – Where have all the naked-eye planets wandered off to?
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Wednesday, March 26th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 29 minutes, setting at 8:03, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:32. The Moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 6:47 tomorrow morning.
Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. At 9 PM this evening just two of the five naked eye planets will be out. Venus and Mercury have gone over to the dark… uh, morning side proceeded by Saturn, a month ago. Jupiter now becomes the brightest evening planet, our substitute evening star if you will. It will be high in the west-southwest at 9 PM. Below it is the bright star Aldebaran with the stars of the Hyades, the face of Taurus the bull, and farther to the right the star group the Pleiades or Seven Sisters. To its lower left, the great constellation of Orion. The rapidly fading Mars, with its distinctive reddish hue, is high in the south, with the stars Castor and Pollux in Gemini above it.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 03/25/2025 – Spotting Zodiacal light
This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, March 25th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 26 minutes, setting at 8:02, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:34. The Moon, 3 days past last quarter, will rise at 6:24 tomorrow morning.
The evening sky will stay dark for the rest of the week, so it’s time to look for the zodiacal light in the evening. It is a faint but towering glow that can be seen after the end of astronomical twilight on moonless nights. It is seen in the west in the evening in late winter and early spring. The axis of the glow is the ecliptic, the apparent annual path of the Sun in the sky, along which lie the constellations of the zodiac. It’s a glow whose wide base is in the west that extends upwards and to the left. Right now, the end of astronomical twilight is about 10:05 p.m. and advancing at a rate of a minute or two each night. Go to a spot with a dark western sky, no big cities or towns out that way. Zodiacal light is caused by dust spread out around the Sun.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
Zodiacal light will not be as obvious as it appears in the above photographs, where I got to play with brightness and contrast. It takes a bit of observation back and forth to spot the glow. Once found it will be easier to spot in future attempts. Zodiacal light can also be seen on fall mornings in the east before twilight begins. The glow will lean to the right instead of to the left.
Ephemeris: 03/24/2025 – Mercury crosses over to the morning side
This is Ephemeris for Monday, March 24th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 22 minutes, setting at 8:00, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:36. The Moon, 2 days past last quarter, will rise at 5:58 tomorrow morning.
Today, Mercury is at inferior conjunction with the Sun, two days after Venus. Mercury of course, this is in the middle of its retrograde motion period, moving westward against the stars, and for astrologers Mercury in retrograde is a big deal. I consider astrology is to astronomy as tea-leaf reading is to botany, so I dismiss it. Every once in a while Mercury, when it passes inferior conjunction, crosses in front of the face of the Sun for us. These are called transits, and are fairly rare. The last time was in November 2019 and the next time will be in November 2032 which is seven years from now. Mercury will move into the morning sky, where its appearance will not be favorable for us in the Northern Hemisphere.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
Retrograde loops are caused by looking at a moving planet from another moving planet, the Earth.
Ephemeris: 03/21/2025 – Venus will pass inferior conjunction with the Sun tomorrow
This is Ephemeris for Friday, March 21st. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 13 minutes, setting at 7:56, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:41. The Moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 3:55 tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow Venus will be in inferior conjunction with the Sun. That means that Venus will be moving between the Earth and the Sun, on its way from the evening sky to the morning sky. Venus’ orbit has an inclination to the Earth’s orbit of 3.4° and when we are closest to Venus as we are now only 26 million miles (42 million kilometers) away, that inclination gets exaggerated so that Venus is almost nine degrees north of the Sun. Venus gets about 8 million miles (13 million kilometers) closer to us than Mars ever gets. Of course when Mars gets that close it is fully illuminated. When Venus is at its closest we’re looking at its night side and couldn’t see anything even if we didn’t have the glare of the Sun.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 03/20/2025 – Spring has sprung!
This is Ephemeris for Thursday, March 20th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 10 minutes, setting at 7:55, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:43. The Moon, 2 days before last quarter, will rise at 2:57 tomorrow morning.
At 5:02 AM this morning the Sun passed overhead on the Earth’s equator heading northward beginning the season of spring. It is called the vernal or spring equinox also the March equinox if you didn’t care which hemisphere you lived in. Anyway, our daylight hours become longer and longer until June 21st the first day of summer. We have been seeing the effects of all this because all winter long the daylight hours have been getting longer and now in the last few weeks our temperatures have begun to rise, especially last Friday and Saturday. Along with the increased daylight hours the Sun is also getting higher in the sky giving us a more concentrated heating, it’s light and heat not being spread out as much as it was during the winter.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
Ephemeris: 03/19/2025 – Suddenly there are only two planets visible in the evening
This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, March 19th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 7 minutes, setting at 7:54, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:45. The Moon, 3 days before last quarter, will rise at 1:53 tomorrow morning.
Let’s take our weekly look at the whereabouts of the naked-eye planets. At 9 PM this evening just two of the five naked eye planets will be out. Venus and Mercury are too close to the Sun in the twilight to be seen. Saturday and Monday Venus and then Mercury will pass between the Earth and the Sun to enter the morning sky. Jupiter, now becomes the brightest evening planet. It will be high in the southwest. Below it is the bright star Aldebaran with the stars of the Hyades, the face of Taurus the bull, and to the lower left, the great constellation of Orion, The rapidly fading Mars, with its distinctive reddish hue, is high in the south, with the stars Castor and Pollux in Gemini above it.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 